A Practitioner’s Guide to Intent Data
Whether you’re already using intent data or just getting started, 2025 promises to be a game-changing year for businesses leveraging this powerful tool. To help you navigate the complexities, Marketing Vogue is hosting a virtual summit titled Leveraging Intent 2025: Discover, Personalize, Scale. On March 30, industry experts will dive into how intent data can supercharge your go-to-market (GTM) strategy. You’ll learn how to identify in-market buyers, personalize campaigns for better engagement, and accelerate sales opportunities.
Before jumping into the myriad ways intent data can benefit your business, it’s important to first understand exactly what it is—and how to use it effectively. Intent data, in its most basic form, is behavioral data that signals a potential purchase. However, not all intent data is created equal. To make the most of your investment, you need to understand the nuances between different types of intent data and how they can be applied to your sales and marketing efforts.
What is Purchase Intent Data?
Originally, “purchase intent data” referred specifically to behavioral data that strongly indicated a potential product or service purchase. However, the term “intent” has since broadened. Some data providers now include any behavioral signals, even those that may not necessarily point to an impending purchase. For example, while changes in personnel (like a new leader) might eventually lead to new purchasing decisions, they are a distant signal and don’t always directly correlate with an active buyer’s journey.
Purchase intent data is primarily used by marketing and sales teams to prioritize accounts and focus efforts on prospects who have shown interest in a particular solution. It’s about improving visibility into market demand and optimizing sales strategies to be more targeted and effective. However, since different types of intent data have different characteristics, it’s important to understand the key attributes that can impact your GTM strategies.
Key Factors to Consider in Intent Data
- Observability of Behaviors
To gauge the immediate value of any intent data, it’s crucial to understand how the data was collected. Data that’s based on visible, observable behaviors—like someone downloading a whitepaper or attending a webinar—is generally more reliable and actionable compared to data sourced from less direct, invisible behaviors. - Trust in the Data Source
Intent data can come from various sources, such as third-party providers, second-party data suppliers, or your own first-party data. Third-party data is collected from external sources, which can create challenges around data accuracy and privacy. Second-party data, on the other hand, comes from another organization that shares the data with you. If the source of your intent data is trusted and transparent, you’ll have more confidence in its relevance and value for your business. - Understanding Content Consumed
One of the limitations of third-party data is that it often lacks insight into the content consumed by the individual exhibiting intent. Without knowing what the person actually read or engaged with, it’s harder to determine whether their behavior signals a genuine interest in your product or service. Second-party data, however, often includes clearer insights into the specific content consumed, enabling more precise personalization of your outreach. - Relevance to Purchase Intent
Not all behaviors are indicative of a buying intent. For example, frequent visits to a site might simply reflect interest or curiosity, not an imminent purchase. Strong intent data is marked by consistent patterns of behavior—such as multiple people from the same company engaging with purchase-relevant content. This is a stronger indicator that an active buyer’s journey is in motion. - Identifying the Individuals Behind the Behavior
Knowing exactly who is exhibiting intent is critical for personalization. If you can’t identify the individuals or understand their role within the organization, it’s difficult to know how relevant their behavior is to your sales process. Second-party data sources, with clearer identification methods, allow for more personalized outreach and more effective engagement.
Types of Intent Data
Intent data typically comes in three forms:
- First-party intent data: This data is collected directly from interactions with your own systems. For example, when a prospect visits your website and downloads a whitepaper, this behavior is recorded, and you know exactly what content spurred the action. This type of data is highly relevant, though sometimes it can be anonymous, limiting its precision.
- Second-party intent data: This data is gathered by another company and shared with you, usually for a fee. Because the data comes from a trusted, known source, it can offer greater insight into buyer behavior and intent.
- Third-party intent data: This is sourced from external providers who collect data from multiple, often unconnected sources. Third-party data may provide aggregated and anonymous information, but the lack of clarity around content and behavior can make it less reliable for personalized outreach.
Strength and Precision of Intent Data
The reliability of intent data largely depends on several factors:
- How well you can identify the accounts and individuals exhibiting behaviors
- The quality and specificity of the content consumed
- How clearly the data can signal an actual purchase intent
The more of these factors are present in your data, the stronger and more actionable the intent signals will be. Data that meets all of these criteria can lead to more effective decisions, optimized resources, and better outcomes across your sales and marketing efforts.
Conclusion
Thousands of B2B organizations are exploring intent data to improve their GTM strategies. Those that make informed decisions about their data sources are already seeing significant advantages, using stronger signals to drive smarter actions and reduce wasted effort. By focusing on the right sources and understanding the key attributes of intent data, you can streamline your outreach, personalize your campaigns, and ultimately increase your sales conversion rates.
As we continue to learn and experiment with intent data, the organizations that leverage it effectively will stay ahead of the competition. To learn more about how intent data can drive growth for your business, don’t miss the Leveraging Intent 2025: Discover, Personalize, Scale summit. Register today and start harnessing the power of intent data for your team!
